The Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir
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Synopsis:
Following the tremendous success of her first novel, Innocent Traitor, which recounted the riveting tale of the doomed Lady Jane Grey, acclaimed historian and New York Times bestselling author Alison Weir turns her masterly storytelling skills to the early life of young Elizabeth Tudor, who would grow up to become England's most intriguing and powerful queen. Even at age two, Elizabeth is keenly aware that people in the court of her father, King Henry VIII, have stopped referring to her as "Lady Princess" and now call her "the Lady Elizabeth." Before she is three, she learns of the tragic fate that has befallen her mother, the enigmatic and seductive Anne Boleyn, and that she herself has been declared illegitimate, an injustice that will haunt her.
My Review:
“She had already decided that, when she grew up, she was going to do whatever she pleased and not let anyone order her about.”
This absorbing novel, which takes Elizabeth from early childhood to the day she becomes queen, explores the reasons this ruler chose to remain “The Virgin Queen.” Weir constructs her story around basic historical facts. I feel so much more educated on who Elizabeth was and what made her into the Queen she became.
Weir takes the reader through the obstacles and dangers Elizabeth faced during this time and conveys the anxiety she must have felt in just trying to stay alive. Elizabeth’s great intelligence and level-hardheadedness helped her survive.
Weir’s Elizabeth is strong-willed, perceptive, intelligent, and a natural-born scholar, a mixture of humility and assertive self-confidence. She learned early to mistrust the motives of those around her, to think for herself and rely upon her own wits and instincts. She also learned from mistakes, both her own and those of others. Weir’s Elizabeth is a survivor, in a circumscribed world full of perils and danger, and although she has her fears, she does not give in to them.
Although this novel is mostly historically accurate, the incident of her becoming pregnant with the child of Thomas Seymour was unnecessary. Yes, we know Elizabeth was subject to his amorous overtures and too young to deal with them, however, this incident is not believable. Otherwise, this is an enjoyable novel, in which I learned more about the young life of this great queen.
My Rating:
✬✬✬✬✬
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